ICTY CHIEF: FRY "BLATANT" IN REFUSING TO ARREST VUKOVAR ACCUSED

( Editorial: --> 9303 ) THE HAGUE, Sept 9 (Hina) - The international war crimes tribunal in The Hague has called on the United Nations Security Council to introduce measures to secure Yugoslavia's cooperation with the tribunal, since that country's "reprehensible conduct" could no longer be tolerated. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) should immediately hand over three former officers of the Serb-led Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) accused of killing about 200 people from the Vukovar Hospital in eastern Croatia in late 1991, leading International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) officials said on Wednesday. While they called for measures to force the FRY to make the arrests, the ICTY's president and prosecutor said the Tribunal would not enter into what kinds of measures the UN Security Council should undertake. There are many political options and we accept every measure which will guarantee the handing over of the three accused, ICTY prosecutor Justice Louise Arbour said, and explained military action against the FRY was not requested. After the (suicide) death of the accused (former Serb mayor of Vukovar) Slavko Dokmanovic, we remain stripped of a public and final resolution of the Vukovar Hospital case, Arbour recalled, adding that many important testimonies by witnesses had been given during the Dokmanovic trial. Even before the Dokmanovic trial started, the ICTY had announced that evidence brought during the case would be used in a future trial of the three JNA officers who were on the same indictment. Those officers are Mile Mrksic, Veselin Sljivancanin and Miroslav Radic, and the ICTY believes they are located in the FRY. Yet the "persistent and continuing rejection of orders" to arrest the three was "but the most blatant example of the refusal of the FRY to co-operate with the International Tribunal", ICTY president Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald said in her letter to the UN Security Council President dated September 9. McDonald said the FRY had constantly rejected cooperating with the Tribunal and was the only signatory to the Dayton accords which had not passed a law on cooperation with the ICTY, and had not undertaken steps to transfer to the ICTY's custody those indictees on its territory. "Put simply, such conduct is illegal," she said. "It is imperative that the reprehensible conduct of the FRY in violating the UN Charter, resolutions of the Security Council and the Dayton Agreement, should no longer be tolerated. "Not only does the FRY consider itself to be outside international law, it has become a haven for fugitives from international law." McDonald said she had already warned the Security Council of the problem but it had not undertaken steps against the FRY. If the Security Council did not respond to the ICTY's calls, some diplomatic measures could be taken, McDonald and Arbour recalled. But they believe the Security Council would react because it had established the ICTY and it was in its interest that the Tribunal worked efficiently. In relation to Kosovo, Arbour recalled that the ICTY mandate was clear in that the Tribunal's jurisdiction covered all events in the region of the former Yugoslavia in the period from 1991 and that its mandate would continue. The only question to be opened is whether violations of international humanitarian law have been committed in Kosovo and that is why we have to carry out an investigation, she said. Asked whether the ICTY had planned to indict Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and whether crimes committed against Bosnian Croats by the Bosnian Muslim side would be investigated, Arbour said the prosecution would not comment on investigations. She also said she did not have any information on whether prime war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, a former commander of the Bosnian Serb army, was in Belgrade. As regards to the other prime war crimes suspect, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, Arbour said all signs existed that he would be brought before the ICTY. (Hina) mbr 092218 MET sep 98